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Earlier this week, the Premier League announced the winners of its latest TV rights auction. As expected, Sky and BT were the (only) big winners, paying a whopping £5.14 billion for coverage over the next three seasons. The following morning, Sky's shares took a hit, with investors seemingly unhappy at the fact the company paid almost £4.2 billion for 126 live games, 70 percent more than the previous auction. In comparison, BT paid £960 million, an increase of just 18 percent.

It's safe to say that there's a lot of money in Premier League football. Clubs are profitable businesses in their own right, but a large share of its revenue is provided by investments for live TV rights. Over the past week, Sky and BT, who have locked horns over high-profile competitions in the past, joined a number of other parties behind closed doors to bid on the TV rights for the three seasons from 2016-17. It took longer expected, but we now know where we'll be watching all 168 live matches next season and that the two main parties involved paid a record sum to secure them.

Virgin Media really doesn't like the way Premier League TV rights are auctioned in the UK. It's already filed a complaint with Ofcom, which argued that the skyrocketing bids from Sky and BT, coupled with the low number of televised fixtures, is having a knock-on effect for the consumer. In addition, it says it's restricting real competition in the TV market, which only exasperates the problem. Ofcom agreed to look into the matter, but was that good enough for Virgin Media? Not quite. You see, the Premier League is thought to be pushing ahead with its next TV rights auction, which means Ofcom probably won't make a decision until after it's all been tied up. The new bidding is for the 2016-19 seasons, so the concern was that any Ofcom ruling wouldn't take effect for four years. Virgin Media has therefore pushed the regulator to take "interim measures" that would put the auction on hold.

Microsoft's Cortana has already proven itself to be quite the oracle. Last summer, the Windows Phone assistant accurately predicted almost all of the World Cup's knockout matches, and since then it's started guessing NFL games too. Of course, now that the Super Bowl's all wrapped up, you might have thought Cortana was ready to take a quick break. Well, think again. For its next trick, the Halo-inspired tool is tackling the UK's Premier League. Using Bing-analysed historical match data, Cortana will now happily predict the victor for any upcoming fixture. It's just a bit of fun, although based on its stellar track record, Microsoft's assistant could prove useful when deciding your next football bets.

The future of football broadcasts in the UK might be up in the air at the moment, but one important piece of TV rights has already been secured. The BBC announced today it has extended its deal to deliver Premier League highlights until the end of the 2018/19 season. That means you'll continue to see Match Of The Day on a Saturday night (and other select matchdays), Football Focus and a new midweek magazine show that's due to air on BBC Two late on a Wednesday. Oh, and don't forget replays on BBC iPlayer. If you're fan of Lineker and co. or prefer your football highlights without ad breaks, you can rest easy -- you've got another four seasons until that possibility arises again.

There's never been more sport for Brits to watch on TV. That should be cause for celebration, but there's a problem: broadcasters are fighting for the rights to show different leagues and tournaments, which is locking sports away behind different satellite and internet TV services. Want to watch every Premier League fixture? You'll have to fork out for both BT Sport and Sky Sports, or make do with the highlights on Match of the Day. There's even talk of the rugby Six Nations competition going pay TV only.

While BT is focused on extending its own sports coverage, the company is well aware that Sky Sports plays a major role in coaxing consumers to choose its competitor's TV packages. After striking a blow against its rival in the courts last month, BT is hoping to level the playing field by introducing Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 channels on its YouView boxes. Combined with BT Sport, the new package means that BT TV subscribers (with YouView hardware) can now watch all of the 154 Premier League matches broadcast live in the UK each season. The change also means that BT can finally retire its Vision+ boxes, which already support Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, and switch completely to YouView hardware. The two channels will be offered to BT customers for £22 per month, or individually for £16.50 per month, and BT says Vision+ users can upgrade to a YouView+ box for £35 at the end of their contract. Of course, this isn't everything Sky has to offer sports fans, but these two new channels could be enough to persuade football addicts contemplating a switch.

The MLS Cup 2014 is taking place this Sunday, December 7th at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, where the LA Galaxy will play host to the New England Revolution. Obviously, one of the main stories around the final match of the season is the retirement of Landon Donovan, who is expected to hang up his cleats after the game -- win or lose. On the technical side, ESPN is going to be using its program to introduce set of live player-tracking graphics, which were developed by ChyronHego, a New York-based company that makes visuals broadcasters. As you can see in the video below, these will be shown on screen live, highlighting key players as the play is developing or in a replay.

Now that we've talked about how you could take your golf skills to another level, it's time to discuss a real sport (just kidding): football. The Beautiful Game has changed tremendously over the past few years, and that's largely due to the technology being used to make soccer equipment lighter, faster and smarter. This, of course, includes balls, footwear and other gear that's meant to help you improve your attributes on the field -- like the Adidas miCoach Smart Ball, for example. But it's not all about the players, young or old, since parents play a big role in the development process of their loved ones. As such, it's very important for them to save memories of their kids as they're growing up, both on and off the field. With that said, let's take a look at some items that might be suited for you, shall we?%Gallery-slideshow249352%

Less than half of all Premier League matches are broadcast live in the UK, and Virgin Media believes that simply isn't good enough. After filing a complaint in September, Ofcom has agreed to investigate whether the low number of televised fixtures is breaching competition law and leading to higher prices for customers and broadcasters. At the moment, the Premier League sells live TV rights for 154 games (out of 380 each season) through a handful of different match bundles. Sky used to dominate this bidding war, but in recent years BT has muscled in by spending big on a couple of the League's key packages.

A Euro 2016 qualifying game between Serbia and Albania was suspended yesterday, after a drone flew over the pitch carrying a flag with a pro-Albanian message. The match was being played at the Partizan Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, ahead of UEFA's (the governing body of European football) most important country competition in 2016, set to be hosted by France. Political problems for Serbia and Albania began many years ago, but the situation worsened right around the time Kosovo, a Serbian province populated mostly by Albanians, declared independence in 2008, which to this day isn't recognized by Serbia. For reference, roughly a third of the Albania squad members are from the Kosovo region alone, making them all too familiar with the hostile relationship between the two Balkan nations.

If you're a keen soccer fan, chances are you already use an app to keep up with all of the latest scores while you're out and about. However, many apps rely on you opening it each time to get a quick rundown on matches, or bombard you with push notifications when a goal goes in. Now that Apple's added widget support to iOS 8, Forza Football is putting all of that important information just a swipe away. As part of its latest update, the app now lists goals, scorers and times of goals in the "Today" screen inside Notification Center, allowing you to catch up with the matches that are only relevant to you. To get started, simply add the new widget to your Notification Center and then follow your favorite team(s). You can also add individual matches to the app's calendar, giving you an at-a-glance look at how your team's rivals are performing during crunch match days.

While goal-line technology debuted for both World Cup and English Premier League action this year, Major League Soccer is looking to take video assistance one step further. MLS commissioner Don Garber told Sports Illustrated that the league wants to be the first to test a replay system that would allow officials to review calls on the pitch after a coach's challenge. FIFA's president Sepp Blatter, the head of soccer's international governing body, has already called for testing next year in league action and during the Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand. It's worth noting that MLS has yet to employ the goal-line systems due to cost, but the instant replay kit could be less expensive to adopt. However, due to its status as an up-and-comer when compared to other professional soccer leagues, MLS could be a prime candidate for the trials. In the US, NFL and MLB already use a similar video system allowing coaches' challenges to help correct errors in officiating -- but only for a few calls. Of course, it comes at the expense of slowing down the action for replays that can sometimes take several minutes to sort.

Europe's biggest club football competition, the Champions League, will be hitting the US in strong fashion this year. Thanks to a recently announced agreement with Fox, which owns the rights to the tournament through the 2017-2018 season, ESPN is set to also broadcast matches here in the States. There are a couple of caveats, however -- the games acquired from this deal are only going to be available on ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language) and WatchESPN (ESPN3), so don't expect to catch any of these on the main ESPN or ESPN2 channels. That said, the cross-licensing deal between the two networks is still a great thing for US soccer fans, particularly after the 2014 World Cup, as they will have more ways to watch one of the best tournaments in sports. It's worth noting that while the Champions League Final won't be streamed on WatchESPN, it is going to be televised on ESPN Deportes, right alongside Fox.

Look, there aren't many things which can truly impress New Yorkers. Yet, somehow, the Mini Countryman pictured above managed to make quite a few heads turn during a drive across Manhattan. Whatever it may have been, it's safe to bet those bright red colors draping the car had something to do with it -- and the not-so-subtle branding didn't hurt its chances to impress, either. Regardless, this Manchester United-themed vehicle is part of a full fleet of 20 vehicles, one for each Premier League team, that NBC Sports and Uber will have cruising around Manhattan through this Sunday. The free rides (up to a 30-minute drive) are obviously being used as a way to promote the start of the EPL season on NBC Sports Network here in the US, which kicks off on Saturday, August 16th. Uber, for its part, isn't new to having bizarre rides hit the streets, like the time-traveling DeLorean and, of course, those beloved Ice Cream trucks. Now we can add this one to the list.%Gallery-slideshow214477%

Don't plan on taking your iPad or Nexus 7 to Manchester United's next home match any time soon. The football team (soccer, for you Yanks) has banned laptops, tablets and other big devices from Old Trafford's grounds. Man U says that the crackdown reflects the "latest security intelligence" used by UK airports -- it's protecting fans from hidden explosives in devices that could do substantial damage. All but the largest smartphones should be fine, however, so you can still capture that van Persie goal without fear of being kicked out.

Back in 2008, Everton FC raised eyebrows when it announced that it'd use the player database from the video gameFootball Manager to scout future recruits. Fast-forward to now, however, and every other manager in the league will have access to the same information. That's because statistics company Prozone has signed a deal to integrate Sports Interactive's highly-detailed catalog of over 80,000 players into its Recruiter platform. That means that Sam Allardyce and Ronald Koeman will be using the same database to hunt for unpolished gems that we've all been playing for the better part of 15 years. Now that all the managers will be playing Football Manager, we just hope that someone recognizes our genius and gives us a shot at a top club -- after all, we did take Wycombe Wanderers to the Champions League.

Goal-line technology is still a relatively new thing in football, having faced its first real test only about a month ago at the World Cup in Brazil. Here in the US, ESPN is doing something along those lines, mostly for entertainment purposes, during the 2014 MLS All-Star Game -- a match between a collection of Major League Soccer's best players and German club Bayern Munich. As Sports Video Group reports, ESPN has installed a set of cameras inside the goalposts of the Timbers' Providence Park, located in Portland, Oregon, to give viewers at home a better (and much closer) look at what happens in such a critical zone of the field. Bob Frattaroli, the man in charge of directing ESPN's game broadcast, told SVG that having this system in place is perfect for fans to experience "what's going on in the 6-yard box" and to see what movements players are making around it. "First of all, it's a really unique angle, but there's also an intimacy to it that you're not expecting," he said.

Update: ESPN has posted a video clip of the cameras in place plus a highlight from their unique perspective, check it out after the break.

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ESPNFootballGoal-lineTechnologyGoalLineTechnologyhdpostcrossMajor League SoccerMajorLeagueSoccerMLSMLS All-Star GameSoccerSportsWed, 06 Aug 2014 19:24:00 -040021|20943020http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/07/25/choose-my-adventure-hunting-for-trouble-and-riches-in-archea/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
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Bouncing between alpha and beta has hindered progress in ArcheAge for Massively's MJ, but it hasn't diminished the fun. As per last week's vote, she spent the past weekend in beta, checking out life on the other continent as an Elf. Now, with the next beta a whole week away, it's back to alpha life as a Firran. But that doesn't mean it's a lonely life! MJ found a spot for her little farm and has been raising some goslings as she continues her crafting and trade exploits. And there's also this thing about joining a guild... we're sure she could find some more trouble to get into with friends. Perhaps she'll even finally make it to prison! Join us live at 7:00 p.m. for MJ's final two-hour CMA Live adventure.

Many are referring to the 2014 World Cup as the best of the modern era -- think: since Korea/Japan in 2002. Was it due to the fact it set an incredible amount of viewing records? Or, perhaps, it has to do with how much social networks made the entire experience that much more enjoyable. After all, who could forget all the great memes and Tumblr accounts? The level of play wasn't bad either, with this year's tournament leaving behind formidable memories of great individual (Guillermo Ochoa against Brazil, Tim Howard against Belgium) and team (Germany's 7-1 thrashing of Brazil) performances. There's a reason why the sport is nicknamed "The Beautiful Game." Thankfully, football doesn't stop here. While we wait for the next World Cup, which Russia will host in 2018, here's how you, the new (or old) fan, can keep up with some of the professional leagues from across the globe.

The numbers speak for themselves: This year's World Cup has been setting records all over the place. Not only did it keep folks in the US tuned into their team with services like WatchESPN, but who could forget the most tweeted-about sports game ever in that 7-1 thumping suffered by host nation Brazil -- Sad Brazilians, anyone? Yesterday's final, meanwhile, which ultimately saw Germany beat out Argentina for football's biggest prize, set great numbers for social media and TV networks alike. For its part, Facebook reports that the 2014 World Cup Final was the biggest sporting event in its history, with comments, likes and posts combining for over 280 million interactions. Twitter, on the other hand, says the match produced a total of 32.1 million tweets and, in the process, broke the record for any event with 618,725 tweets per minute.

I still remember my old, favorite football like it was yesterday. It wasn't made by Nike, Adidas or even Diadora, but it lasted me for about seven years, from when I was 7 until about 14 or so. And even though, toward the end of its life, it started to look as if it had been living in a waste dumpster, never, ever did it let me down. Despite the battle scars collected over the years, like the faux-leather gradually falling off or needing to get pumped up every time before a game, that cheap, low-tech ball always did what it was supposed to: Be, well, a ball you could have fun with. In recent years, however, things have changed quite drastically. As technology evolves, sports balls continue to get smarter and smarter, with a great amount of research and development money being spent by manufacturers. Here's where Adidas' recently announced miCoach Smart Ball comes in.%Gallery-slideshow206883%

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AdidasAdidas miCoachAdidasMicoachFootballhands-onmiCoachmiCoach Smart BallSmart BallSmartBallSoccerSportsWorld CupWorldCupFri, 11 Jul 2014 16:00:00 -040021|20929362
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Colombia certainly faced an uphill climb against Brazil at the World Cup, and the side turned to tech to increase its chance of winning throughout the tournament. During training, the Colombian national team leveraged Catapult: a wearable GPS system that maps players' bodies in three-dimensional space to gauge the "load" placed on each athlete. Among a host of other features, the sensors transmit data to coaches and staff instantly at a range of up to 250-300 feet. Soccer isn't the only sport using the system either, as the San Antonio Spurs implemented the system to track basketball prospects ahead of last week's NBA Draft.

Many people in the US, even those who don't speak or understand Spanish, have been using the Univision Deportes app to watch the World Cup. To a certain degree, this was due to the fact that Univision's service was completely free for anyone to enjoy, meaning it didn't require any authentication through a cable or internet service provider. Unfortunately, that's all changing as of tomorrow. Starting with the Quarter-Finals, which kick off on July 4th, Univision is set to begin requiring a cable login (from a participating provider) to stream matches leading up to the Final -- something WatchESPN has done since the beginning of the tournament.

We've had the World Cup doodle, and now Google's Chrome is getting into the Beautiful Game's big tournament, with three experimental games that connect between your smartphone and browser. (Well, the third title, Shootout, can be played on your phone). Compared to prior titles, however,, they're a little lame. We found controls on our iPhone to be,well, outright unstable. Rather than our lack of skill, which is usually to blame for our low scores, a buggy connection and unresponsive controls were what usually stopped our keepie-uppies. Slightly insipid gaming aside (c'mon, they're free and neither Infinite Kick nor Space Kick have an end), the best part is the Brazil-flavored soundtrack. Top scores and bragging rights belong below in the comments, please.